There are times when subbing is pretty great, like last week when I subbed at an elementary school for a teacher I know who asked me to "teach her 2nd graders something about writing." (She says writing is not her strong suit.)
So, I did a lesson on adding descriptive details to sentences to make them more interesting. Students were working on fables at the time. We also practiced punctuation for dialogue, and I moved among them answering questions and helping them edit their work.
There are also times when subbing is soul-crushing, like yesterday when I subbed double-periods for a band teacher who left a note that basically said, "The day will be easy. Show a movie."
While this wasn't the hardest subbing day I've ever had, I also may have allowed kids to get on their phones because my main role was to keep kids alive and from fighting. They don't want to watch a G or PG movie, especially not one of the three I offered them and for which they had to vote. They wanted to sit with their feet propped up (and who doesn't), but there weren't enough chairs in some classes for everyone to do this, so I then had to argue with people over that. (Because middle schoolers are all about what is fair.)
I realize the teacher doesn't have desks in the band room, but there are things called clipboards (and I am happy to buy 50 of them for him), so students can have some work to do in groups that is actually about music education. Even a little bit of work keeps kids occupied and the sub has SOMETHING to hold them accountable to.
I said this much to the AP when I left (nicely, of course).
Am I a difficult person?
Perhaps.
Do I deserve being called a "Karen?"
Possibly.
I have been known to not be able to keep my mouth shut when something is just dumb or wrong or not well considered.
But I became a sub because it galled me to see subs in my kids' classes who were sitting on their phones.
So, here I am, ready to be more than that, and I am sometimes hobbled by the teachers. (Which annoys me, and yet I.SO.GET because planning work for a sub is like another whole stinking job.)
So, I did a lesson on adding descriptive details to sentences to make them more interesting. Students were working on fables at the time. We also practiced punctuation for dialogue, and I moved among them answering questions and helping them edit their work.
There are also times when subbing is soul-crushing, like yesterday when I subbed double-periods for a band teacher who left a note that basically said, "The day will be easy. Show a movie."
While this wasn't the hardest subbing day I've ever had, I also may have allowed kids to get on their phones because my main role was to keep kids alive and from fighting. They don't want to watch a G or PG movie, especially not one of the three I offered them and for which they had to vote. They wanted to sit with their feet propped up (and who doesn't), but there weren't enough chairs in some classes for everyone to do this, so I then had to argue with people over that. (Because middle schoolers are all about what is fair.)
I realize the teacher doesn't have desks in the band room, but there are things called clipboards (and I am happy to buy 50 of them for him), so students can have some work to do in groups that is actually about music education. Even a little bit of work keeps kids occupied and the sub has SOMETHING to hold them accountable to.
I said this much to the AP when I left (nicely, of course).
Am I a difficult person?
Perhaps.
Do I deserve being called a "Karen?"
Possibly.
I have been known to not be able to keep my mouth shut when something is just dumb or wrong or not well considered.
But I became a sub because it galled me to see subs in my kids' classes who were sitting on their phones.
So, here I am, ready to be more than that, and I am sometimes hobbled by the teachers. (Which annoys me, and yet I.SO.GET because planning work for a sub is like another whole stinking job.)
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